Sonnen in photo by Josh Hedges

After a hard-fought title fight at the August 7 UFC 117 event, where Anderson Silva pulled off a come-from-behind win over Chael Sonnen, a rematch was almost immediately scheduled for 2011. Now, though, those plans may be scrapped altogether.

With the recent revelation that Sonnen has failed the California Athletic Commission’s mandatory performance-enhancing-substances test, the future of the matchup is uncertain. So far, though, neither the fighter in question nor UFC president Dana White have addressed the matter.

Sonnen’s punishment should be announced in the days to come, and the fight with Silva will likely not happen too soon. This clears the way for a possible fight with Vitor Belfort, who is scheduled to face Yushin Okami on November 13, or perhaps a rematch with Nate Marquardt, who is coming off a win over Rousimar Toquinho.